A caretaker of an infant, baby, or small child, hereinafter referred to as a baby, spends a lot of time comforting, rocking or nursing the baby. This is generally done while the caretaker is sitting in a chair, such as a rocking chair, with the head of the baby held against the caretaker's arm. The aforementioned actions can also be performed while the caretaker is standing. When performing these actions, the caretaker often becomes uncomfortable due to the weight of the baby's head against the caretaker's arm. This causes localized pressure on the arm, resulting in tension, sometimes swelling and abrasion to the caretaker's arm. Similar discomfort is experienced by the baby in and around its head, neck and shoulders and other parts of the body. While in a sitting position, the caretaker may experience other localized pressures created between the caretaker's arm the arm of a chair resulting in discomfort of greater or lesser degree depending upon the shape and hardness of the arm of the chair.
Since the caretaker of the baby must sit or remain in a fixed position for a relatively long time, extreme discomfort can be experienced by the caretaker. Because of this problem, attempts have been made to alleviate the discomfort to the caretaker and the baby. For instance, a blanket or ordinary head pillow have been used on the arm by being wrapped around the arm to cushion the weight of the baby's head and to alleviate the strain on the caretaker's arm when engaging the arm of the chair. However, these techniques are temporary at best, since the blanket or pillow tends to unwrap quickly due to arm movements of the caretaker and head movements of the baby. These movements cause the blanket and the pillow to become loose on the arm and they become essentially ineffective in reducing discomfort. Because of this drawback, the caretaker must continually readjust the position of the blanket or the pillow to its ideal position.
Another problem encountered in holding a baby during nursing or other activities is the accumulation of perspiration between the caretaker's arm and the baby's head. This perspiration, during hot weather for instance, can cause a bad skin condition on both the caretaker and the baby. Such a condition is clearly to be avoided if at all possible.
A reference related to pillows of this type is U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,890 which shows a sheath filled with polyester stable fiber and stitched out the outer periphery to close the perimeter of the sheath.
Because of the foregoing drawbacks and problems, it is desirable to have an improved head support for a baby which will be both comforting and satisfying to both baby and caretaker yet is convenient to use and is simple in construction.